Goggles
by Sonfaro
Summary: Goggles... The best of the best seem to have them. But why? A few one shots merged together to make me a better writer. Enjoy!
1. Tai: Motivation

**Goggles.**

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By: Sonfaro

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Tai: Motivation

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They had been a gift from his grandfather. The old war-vet was aged and half-senile when he had given them to his only grandson, but they had come from the heart none the less. Young Taichi "Tai" Kamiya was only four when they had gone to visit the old man. Tai remembered being deathly afraid of him.

"He certainly is a spry young puppy isn't he?"

"He gets that from his mother", Mr. Kamiya admitted with a smile.

Grandpa Yagami's eyes turned to slits. "Are you calling my daughter a puppy, boy?"

Mr. Kamiya felt a bead of sweat fall down his brow. "Um… No sir, not at all." The next thing he felt was his wife's free elbow in his side, her hands full from the bundle that was Tai's little sister.

Tai however, didn't pay any attention to his parents banter. He was busy just staring at the old man. The four year old was sure he could count the number of large, leathery wrinkles in the mans face. It was quite unnerving for a boy who had never seen the patriarch of the Yagami-Kamiya family.

Old Yagami simply grinned. "Hey, puppy. I have something for you."

A gift? Tai liked gifts. But this old man was big and scary, and it stood to reason that the gift he received from this man would be big and scary. As such, Tai thought it best that he terminate the relationship then and there and run to his mother, who had enough trouble keeping Kari out of her earrings as it was.

Mrs. Kamiya sighed. "Sorry daddy. Tai's not feeling to well today."

"Oh?"

"Well, one of his friends… who was it dear?"

Tai sniffed as he tried to remember what had happened before the hour-or-two drive to Osaka, and then tried to forget just as quickly. "Sora…"

Mrs. Kamiya nodded. "Sora was being bullied by one of her relatives. Tai's really shook up about it daddy."

Old Yagami was rummaging through a cabinet while this discussion was going on. "Was he scary kido?"

Tai hesitated, and then nodded. "Dwayne's scary."

Grandpa Yagami glanced down at Tai, who proceeded to bury himself deeper into his mothers side. Mrs. Kamiya sighed and handed the troublesome Kari to her husband. She ushered Tai closer to his grandfather, and that was the first time he had seen them.

"You see these kid?" His grandfather gave a wrinkled old smile. These used to belong to a friend of mine in the big one. He was a brave man, who loved his friends. He was a heck of a pilot, but the enemy was much greater than us. He died saving my life puppy. Now I know a lot of this may be way over your head…"

And it was. Tai had no idea what the old wrinkly man was talking about.

"But they always reminded me to be courageous. I'll never forget what he said to me… He said… 'Courage will give me wings to fly'. Even above of those who wanted to hurt me. When ever I see these goggles I'm reminded of my friend, and of how he saved my life. And I remember to be courageous." And with that he wrapped the slightly aged goggles around Tai's hair, already unruly and thick.

"Now there will come a day when you may not need these little kid. But until that day comes, be reminded that you must always be brave. Never forget your courage Taichi. You're friends will always count on you. No matter what."

Tai thought for a moment. His Grandfather had given him something important, and even though it wasn't a car or a plane, he had given it to him for a reason. He had given it to him so that Tai would be brave. And for this weathered out shell of a Japanese Soldier, Tai was willing to be brave.

It was only later, after his grandfather had passed on, that Tai understood fully what the old man meant. There would always be Dwayne's in his life. He faced several in his eleventh year of life alone. And yet for all of them, no matter what, he always knew he had to be brave. Because, there would always be someone who needed him.

There would always be a friend…

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_End Motivation..._


	2. Davis: Emulation

Goggles.

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By: Sonfaro

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Davis: Emulation

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They were a gift to him from the greatest guy on the face of the planet.

At least, Davis Motomiya thought he was the greatest guy on the planet.

Davis knew he wanted to be more like Tai the minute he laid eyes on him. He was a laid back kid in middle school, and one of the best soccer strikers Tokyo had seen in a long time. He had friends. He had family. And he seemed at least two years more mature than any of the other middle school kids. (Nearly a year in the Digital world will do that to you, Davis later found out.)

And so Davis set out as a young lad to, in essence, become Taichi Kamiya, right down to the goggles. He became a decent Striker (though most everyone admitted he was better on defense.) Made some friends (though most of them were jerks.) And even tried to get closer to his family. (But you can only get so close to Jun without being drowned in unnecessary perfume.)

But no matter how hard Davis tried, he couldn't BE Tai. His words would get mixed up. He would be insulting and rude for no reason. He was playing a caricature of a close friend. And everyone knew it.

It wasn't until Davis was brought to the digital world that he understood just what those goggles were for.

He had asked Tai one day, during a friendly one on one game of soccer, why the others weren't respecting him when it came to strategy and battle against the Digimon Emperor.

His mentor had simply yawned. "Have you tried being their friend?"

"Huh?

"When we went to the Digital World, I had no intention to be the leader. Most of us followed Matt around really. He was the 'cool' one." Tai laughed and shook his head. "It wasn't until my friends needed me that I started to stand out. Heck, I didn't even notice I'd become the leader until we almost lost our chance to get home."

Davis frowned. "But Tai, you said EVERYONE voted for you when it came down to it. When the cards were stacked against you guys they turned to you!"

"But only because I was the only one available." Tai sighed and picked up the soccer ball. "At the time, Mimi was too flighty to really be Leadership. Joe was to pessimistic. Izzy still had trouble paying attention to the rest of us. TK was only Eight. Sora was still getting over Demi Devimon's lies. And the Digimon pretty much simply followed us around. The choice came down to me and Matt really. And Matt was more worried about TK. So naturally…"

Davis shook his head. "But HOW did they do it? I mean, what did you do that I'm not doing?"

"I was… well, I was being me."

Davis blinked. "Huh?"

Tai ran his fingers through chocolate brown hair. "I never changed who, or what I was in the Digital World. I let my instincts take over, I looked at the big picture." He shrugged, the ball under his arm. "The leader was inside me. I didn't have to change the way I act or feel to become him.

"What I'm saying Davis", he said to a confused teen, "is that you shouldn't force yourself to be the leader. If they follow you, so be it. If they don't, accept it. Those goggles on your head don't mean leadership. They mean courage. They were important to me, and I gave them to you because you needed that courage more than me. You have it now Davis. Don't worry about what the others think of you. Just be yourself."

Those words rang true for Davis for the next few hours. During which Tai proceeded to beat the younger kid at soccer 5 to 2, but Davis' mind wasn't on the game. He had always thought of the goggles simply as a cool souvenir. Having them made him feel so much different.

The next time Davis showed up in the digital world, he decided to drop all pretenses. Though he still argued with Yolei, thought TK was an arrogant jerk, and was utterly ignored by Kari, he noticed that everyone was a little nicer to him. He wasn't so much a carbon copy of the man whom he looked up to. He was his own person, and they loved him the more for it.

The goggles had become more to Davis than just a representation of his mentor. They had come to represent acceptance.

And Davis cherished that even more than a kiss from Kari…

…

Well, about the same as a kiss from Kari.

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_End Emulation…_


	3. Takato: Contemplation

**Goggles.**

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By: Sonfaro

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Takato: Contemplation

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They had been bought for their specific purpose. Shielding the eyes from the elements.

Of course, when he had first purchased them, Takato wasn't quite so used to the elements at all. He wasn't a fan of them afterwards either.

Rika had asked about them one day, after a stressful evening of battling realized Digimon, Rika had begrudgingly accepted the goggle heads offer for a midnight snack at the bread shop. She also absolutely denied that this was any thing remotely resembling a date.

Still, it wasn't every day Takato could convince Rika to do anything with him.

Guilmon was asleep. Renamon was… Somewhere. Only Rika knew. The girl in question sat with hot tea in hand, waiting for Takato who was having the hardest time getting the bread he was making for them to stay fluffy. The question simply came out of the air. "What are those for anyways Goggle head?"

"What?"

"Your goggles."

Takato blushed. "Why?"

"I'm curious. Enlighten me."

Takato thought for a moment, not bothering to turn his attention from the bread and towards the crimson haired tamer. "I wanted to impress Jeri I think."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Takato yawned. He pawed lightly at his goggles before removing them to get a good look at them. "These things saved my life." Seeing Rika's confused face, he decided to continue. "We were going swimming together or something. I wanted to show off my dive. I thought it might impress her." He sighed and faced Rika. "Almost broke my neck." He laughed nervously. "I didn't know how deep the ground was when I jumped. It was really to shallow. I bumped my head and got really woozy. Without these goggles I wouldn't have made it I think. Without them I wouldn't have stayed calm underwater. It was only a few feet from the surface. I managed to push off the bottom and got air. Jeri called the lifeguard, and that was that."

She sipped on the tea in her hands gingerly. "You still haven't explained why you're wearing them."

Takato blinked. "Um… I like them?"

Rika raised her eyebrow. "Wrong answer."

Takato sighed. "I guess I want to channel Davis and Tai."

"Huh?"

"You know. From the TV show. They knew what they were doing. They knew how to care for and protect their partners." He sighed, his attention firmly on the girl before him. "When I made Guilmon, I had no idea what to do with him. But I thought, if those two can be brave, then so can I right? Eventually I just thought WWT/DD." He laughed and blushed at the same time, a look Rika found quite… stimulating. "What would Tai or Davis do."

She smiled. "Did it work?"

"No."

"No?"

"I think that my friendship with Guilmon is better than theirs." Takato nodded. "They're just cartoon characters. This is the real thing. I don' t have any siblings you know, and Guilmon is the closest I'll get to it. I love Guilmon. He's my best friend." Takato smiled and placed the goggles back on his head. "In fact, Guilmon's the one who chose these goggles. He thought they made me look cool. I guess I wear them to show off our friendship."

Rika blushed. "All that, because you bought a pair to impress a girl? You are something else Goggle head."

They sat in silence for a moment. Takato realize that he and Rika were together in the same place, at midnight. With both parents still a sleep. The teen blushed. The silence deepened.

The bakery screaming with the timer sadly, interrupted said silence. Takato panicked and reached for the bread, which was, sadly, as black as the sky outside, and hard as a rock.

"Um… Bread's ready."

"GOGGLE HEAD!"

Takato knew pain was forthcoming. Rika did not like having her time wasted.

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End Contemplation…

_Authors Note: Meh. This one didn't turn out right. It felt more like I was trying to hook them up, which, while tempting, is not what I wanted to accomplish. Sorry about that. I'll try better, I promise._

_- Sonfaro._


	4. Takuya: Aggravation

Goggles.

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By: Sonfaro

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Takuya: Aggravation

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He'd gotten them from someone close. Some one who he both wanted to hug, and DDT to the floor.

Most younger siblings were like that, Takuya Kanbara would later realize. They were often fickle creatures, those extra children the mother tended to have. At one end they could be close friends. At the other, they could be the most annoying creatures on the face of the earth. Often times, at least as far as Shinya was concerned, it was hard to tell.

Takuya still remembered how he had gained those goggles. It had been his birthday. All of his friends had gotten him things he could use in life. Like a new video game, a soccer ball. Something like that. And he was perfectly happy with those gifts. To Takuya, these gifts made sense.

Shinya's gift however, did not.

"What are these?" Takuya would remember asking. He hadn't been excited about his little brothers gift to begin with, but upon opening it found himself even more disappointed than he had expected.

"Goggles", said Shinya, as if it were the most natural gift in the world.

Takuya frowned. "What am I going to use goggles for?"

Shinya made a face. "You don't like it?"

Of course, Takuya Kanbara wasn't enamored by the pair of goggles his little brother Shinya had given him on his birthday. In fact, the nine-year-old brunette had been annoyed by the 'gift', if one could call it that. He had pestered his mother about the obviously cheap brand goggles.

"What am I going to do with a pair of goggles momma?

"Well it was all that your brother could afford". His mother had told him.

Begrudgingly, Takuya stuck it on a nearby hat and left it there. He never took it off. Shinya and his mother thought he was being nice. Takuya was just being lazy. The goggles kept his hat tighter, and that was all he cared about.

And yet, when ever he and Shinya went out to play soccer, or wrestle on the deck, or go fishing in the park, his little brother never failed to remind his elder that he still wore those goggles on his head. Takuya often wanted to hurl the things back at his brother, but never got around to it. Takuya couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something (or someone) was telling him to keep his goggles.

Three years later, it would be the only link that Takuya still had to his family.

He sat beneath one of the many tree's in the forest terminal and just looked at them for a moment. They were cheap, and had no value to him in this strange new world he and the others had discovered. And yet, they were all he had. He chuckled at the irony of his situation.

He looked around to see the others. They were all so far from home. So far from the normalcy's of life. It was often easy for them to forget the people closest to them, still waiting on the other side.

But Takuya had a way to remember. For him, no matter how annoying his little brother was, the gift he gave him would always remind him of happiness. Home. And most of all family.

_End Aggravation..._


End file.
